Nigerian actress banned from films for starring in 'immoral' pop music video

The video shows Kannywood star Rahama Sadau holding hands with singer ClassiQ

Rahama Sadau is one of the top stars in the Hausa-language film industry (YouTube/Finesse Entertainment)

A prominent Nigerian actress has been banned by a major industry body after she played a character holding hands and “cuddling” a singer in a pop video.

Rahama Sadau was one of the top stars in the Hausa-language film industry based in northern Nigeria.

But industry leaders said she had repeatedly failed to adhere to the conservative values of the region, and said her performance in the music video with singer ClassiQ was the last straw.

The ban has been imposed by the Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria (Moppan), and means Sadau will no longer be allowed to perform in any films made in Kannywood - the northern Nigerian film industry named after its base in the city of Kano.

The actress is yet to respond to the ban, and has not tweeted to her 52,000 followers since news of it emerged on Monday.

The music video shows cuddling and hand-holding that would be considered chaste by Western standards (YouTube/Finesse Entertainment)

But the industry body said this was 'not the first time she has been doing these wayward things' (YouTube/Finesse Entertainment)

But the chairman of Moppan, Muhammadu Kabiru Maikaba, confirmed in an interview with the BBC Hausa service that the ban was “total”.

He said: “This is not the first time that she has been doing these wayward things. We have been warning her, but she still went ahead to dent our image.”

The video in question was released in late September and entitled “I love you”.

Sadau plays the role of a market stall worker who falls in love with the singer, ClassiQ, and the pair are shown holding hands and sitting together in scenes which would be described as chaste by Western standards.

Moppan is under pressure to protect Kannywood from the outrage of conservative Muslim clerics, however, who have accused the industry of being a negative influence on family values.

It said in a statement signed off by the Secretary of the association, Salisu Mohammed, that the music video was “immoral”, and warned other actors to adhere to the rules that come with being a Kannywood star.